How the Marquess was Won - Julie Anne Long

4 Stars. (historical romance)

This was a really witty and adorable read. The hero and heroine were both characters to cheer for and the heroine especially was likeable, funny, charming and someone you want to have her happy ending.

The hero, nicknamed Lord Ice by the ton is supposed to be cool, calm and collected, rumoured to only want to best of everything whether food, dress, drink or women, now that he looking for a wife everyone assumes he'll want nothing by the best to choose from.

Julian sets his sights on Lady Lisbeth Redmond, a beauty, sweet tempered and manageable, ready to be adored and looked up to by the ton once she gains status through marriage. What Julian doesn't expect is to meet Sophie Vale, a governess who although only two years older than Lisbeth doesn't see herself getting married or having much of a personal life. It's not that she isn't pretty, she has her attributes although would be easily overlooked next to someone like Lisbeth. Sophie is smart and discerning and is in fact quite choosy when it comes to men. She wouldn't settle for anything less than she deserves and would never put up with a man who doesn't challenge her in some way. She's quite a loving and funny heroine and I really enjoyed following her story.

Julian and Sophie meet and both are intrigued by the each other. Sophie knows of Julian through the gossip rags and Julian is charmed by Sophie's attitude and perceptive nature. It isn't until Sophie is invited to join Lisbeth at her home for a weekend party that Sophie meets Julian again and the sparks really begin to fly in earnest. Sophie used to teach Lisbeth and Lisbeth basically invites Sophie to join her for the weekend to act as chaperone while her parents are away.
You can see the triangle developing here.

The chemistry between Julian and Sophie sizzled and you could tell how much they grew to care for one another. Their interactions were genuine and heartfelt and based on more than just lust which I really appreciated. These two really got to know one another and talked a lot about their lives, hopes, dreams, yada yada lol You felt the connection as a reader.

I enjoyed their sparring, their laughing and their more intense moments.

The book is definitely worth a read, especially if you like the books with high powered hero's and down to earth 'normal' heroines.

This isn't a negative, but really just something I noticed - the author used the word 'recalcitrant' way more than necessary. Synonyms include: contrary, defiant, obstinate, rebellious, stubborn.
There were also a few editing errors here and there that I picked out. I wish these were taken care of better before the book hits final printing. It's not a huge flaw, but really, it's distracting and can be easily avoid with another clean run through.

Otherwise a very enjoyable story and there was more great set up for the eventual story between Olivia Eversea and Lyon Redmond. I can't wait to read their story and really hope it lives up to its build up after so many previous mentions in the rest of the series. 

 

My Ruthless Prince by Gaelen Foley

3 Stars (historical romance)
ARC provided by Netgalley

release date: Tuesday, December 27th, 2011 by Avon
Mass Market Paperback, 384 pages

Started out really well, the friends to lovers trope is my absolute favourite, but about half way the premise got a bit windy and the romance a bit too sugary for my taste. Things started to fall too easily into place.

I haven't read many of Gaelen Foley's books. I think I read two in the Knight's Miscellany series. When I first read the premise for this book, the fourth in the Inferno Club series of which I have read none, I was immediately pulled in by the friends to lovers premise. Its always been one of my favourites, so much potential for great tension and awkward, charged moments as the friends slowly realize they love each other more deeply than a simple friendship goes. When done well, the friends to lovers trope can make for an absolutely delightful romance novel. I have to say that at first I was thrilled with this book for just that reason, it seemed that Foley was taking my favourite trope and executing it perfectly. Emily and Drake have been the best of friends since childhood, and when I say the best of friends I mean it and as a reader you feel their devotion to one another. Emily was the gamekeeper's daughter, Drake a noble earl, their friendship tolerated but never approved by his family. As they grew older and it became clear that at least on Emily's side, feelings had progressed, Drake's mother became involved and insisted that nothing would ever come of their friendship - Drake would never be allowed to marry Emily.

Well, the whole forbidden love bit only added to the tension of this relationship. The book drives readers into the plot from the first page where Emily is being chased through the woods by Drake, who has returned to The Promethians - a rebel group bent of world domination of some sort and the enemies of England and The Order, a secret band of noble soldiers fighting for England in secret, a band of which Drake was a part before he was taken prisoner (I assume in the previous book) and brainwashed into following the enemy. Emily, always blindly devoted to Drake, risking all for the love she has for her friend has followed him back to The Promethians in order to get him back to England and reclaim the man he once was.

So we have the set up for a great plot and romance. It started out well, the tension was there, the intrigue and readers wonder if Drake really has been turned or if it's all a ruse, the will they won't they factor. Everything was chugging along nicely, but as the book progressed and it became obvious that some secrets had to be revealed I found that the tension lost its edge and the relationship between Drake and Emily turned too easily. While before Drake was playing hard ball - he all of a sudden started to give into Emily, trying to charm and seduce her. Emily of course was at once hard nosed in her determination to get her Drake back, while also falling into his embrace - duh because she loves him so dearly.

While I really did like both of these characters, they were sincere and sweet and very loving with each other, I though that Foley could have made more of the situation they were in, she could have prolonged the will they won't they bit and also prolonged the tension by making Emily wonder longer if Drake really had gone rogue, or if was working at some other cause. I think things became too easy between them too quickly and once this happened I got a little bored and the details started to bog me down.

Once they reconciled their positions with each other it was like nothing was left but to deal with the action plot - The Promethians vs. The Order plot. Because I didn't read the others in this series, the action side of the story was a bit hard for me to understand. I followed it all, but I wasn't invested in what Drake was fighting for, I wasn't really clear on who the players were or what the danger was - only that there were good guys and bad guys and the bad guys threatened England and had to be stopped.

The love scene when it came was rushed and kind of odd in a way. For all of the tenderness between Drake and Emily I thought that their time together could have been handled differently. A little disappointing.

The tension did pick up again about a quarter from the end, but then it slowed again like it had before and again I felt that the resolution was a bit rushed.

Overall, not a bad read. I would recommend it for sure to fans of the series who have read all 3 books that come before this one. The friends to lovers theme started out well but lost something along the way, but for those who enjoy this trope like I do, the book would be worth checking out.

For me, this one was a 3 star read, definitely in this case I would recommend reading the series in order! There are definitely moments between Drake and Emily I think I missed in book 3.

 

Scandalous Desires by Elizabeth Hoyt

4.5 Stars. (Historical Romance)

Fabulous! I've been waiting FOREVER it seems to read Charming Mickey and Silence's story, every since their first encounter in book 1 of the Maiden Lane series. I was not disappointed by the passion, the danger, the intrigue or the love between these two characters.

I thoroughly enjoyed Mickey and loved seeing his background slowly revealed as he began to open up to Silence and bear his soul. He lived a hellish life and persevered and is definitely a hero to love. Even in all his impetuous cruelty and thoughtlessness, Mickey O'Connor was a man to love. Silence was his perfect balance and I liked the way she started out hating him and then slowly grew to trust and love him. They had a long way to go considering how these two met and what Mickey did to her in the beginning but I liked that Silence didn't hold a grudge, was understanding of his faults and weaknesses and only wanted to care for him and be his partner.

I could go on and on gushing but essentially I just really enjoyed the book. I think out of all three, my favourite is still Wicked Intentions, I just remember being so impressed and captured by the setting and characters and originality of the first book in the series - and Daire was awesome. This book sent us back to the streets of St. Giles which I loved, seeing as how that is part of the grittiness and originality of this series, compared to so many other historical romances, but I felt that unlike book 1, this story did tend to ride a bit more on the standard romance tropes I've read before. Not enough to dampen my love of the story, but it was noticeable at times in the way that things were resolved towards the end and in the way certain situations were handled between hero and heroine. I think that I missed the grit and eeriness from book 1 that readers got to experience while Daire and Temperance explored the streets of St. Giles. I was also hoping for just a smidge more push and pull between Silence and Mickey, just a bit more angst between them. I felt like they fell for one another just a bit too easily given their history.

I also would have liked to get even little snippets of information about the lives of the couples we met in the first two books. We get to see Daire and Temperance, but not really interacting together and we only saw Hero alone, never Griffin. Ah well, I appreciated that the book was very much Silence and Mickey centric and those scenes that needed to be developed outside of their love story were short and sweet and to the point and didn't distract or take away from the romance at hand.

I will happily disclose that I guessed right in my pick for the Ghost of St. Giles' identity. It is revealed at the end of the book and I am now even more intrigued for the next books in the series to see how this all pans out.

As a side note, I am really hoping that one of the books in the series, maybe number 5 will feature Asa as a hero! I have been intrigued by him from book 1 and would really love to see his character fleshed out and explored. Hoyt does a great job to amp up his mystique in each book by even mere mentions of him. Here's hopin'

If you love Elizabeth Hoyt, historical romance, pirates, brooding hero's or the Maiden Lane series this book is a must! BUT if you are new to the series, definitely start at book 1!! VERY IMPORTANT - which is saying a lot since I tend to start anywhere in a series most of the time and just go with the premise most interesting to me at the time, *cough* Bridgerton Series *cough* :p

The Duke's Captive by Adele Ashworth

5 Stars. (Historical Romance)

I’ve had The Duke’s Captive on my shelf for over a year, I bought it last summer after it was first released and remember being all geared up to read it, but then of course my interest in other books took over and I ended up putting it on my shelf only to pick it up this weekend. Boy was I surprised by how much I actually enjoyed it! So often with me I start reading a historical romance and half way through I end up getting bored and have to push myself to finish the book. This usually happens about the time the h/h get together in the biblical sense. For some reason I feel like time and again the tension I so loved between h/h, the banter and intrigue and suspense of the whole will they won’t they and when will it happen? Scenario goes out the window as soon as they get it on. The Duke’s Captive was one of those books that had me glued to the pages until the very end. I read this book in about a day because it takes off from the beginning and doesn’t let up until the end.

I will state right off the bat that I am a fan of the ‘revenge romance’ trope. If you aren’t a fan, or can’t get over having the h/h battling it out in a high stakes game of wills for much of the novel than this might not be for you.

Things I loved:

The revenge romance scenario Ashworth does not shy away from making this a very angsty and often heart wrenching story. The hero was kidnapped five years prior to the opening of the book. He was kidnapped by the heroine, Viola’s two sisters and held for five weeks in a dungeon. His psyche took a beating and since his escape Ian has been tormented by his inability to remember all the details of his captivity and how Viola played a role in his life and abduction during that time. When Ian finally tracks Viola down the battle is on between these two and one thing among many that I really appreciated was how the revenge romance was high on the revenge. Ian is pissed and is bent on making everyone who hurt him all those years ago suffer. Viola is his intended victim and he goes after her with a vengeance. I liked that this scenario was believable. You really want to hate Ian in certain moments, because you glean insight into Viola’s thoughts and her actions during that time through her journal entries which mark the beginning of each chapter. So right away you know some of the truth about Viola’s involvement during Ian’s abduction. But you can’t hate the guy. He wounded, scared and looking for someone to basically show him that life can go on and he can live well in it. Ian melted my heart even though he comes across for much of the novel as very cold and austere.

In a revenge romance I feel like too often the hero is too quickly bowled over by the heroine’s beauty or charms and forgets what he intended in the first place. With Ian and Viola it’s different. They both feel a heated attraction to one another, but they are both – for different reasons willing to deny their attraction and then succumb to it. The whole way this story places out is really flawless and very well executed. The evolution of feelings is perfectly played out.

The history These two are not strangers meeting for the first time. They have a past, a sordid, tarnished, inescapable past that only ends up heightening the passion and love these two eventually come to accept from one another. I loved the journal entries that marked each chapter of the book. These entries are really what hooked me when I first wanted to read this book over a year ago. They are beautiful and sad and you cringe and smile all at the same time when you read Viola’s thoughts.

The Hero and Heroine These two are perfect together and I especially loved Viola. She’s strong and fierce. Won’t sit back and let Ian ruin her and I liked that she tried to fight him and best him at his own games. She’s a tough cookie and strong willed. She’s also very tender and loving and cares a lot about Ian. She knows he’s trying to destroy her and yet she can’t help but love the man she used to know and feels is still somewhere inside the angry and disgruntled man standing before her. Ian in turn is cold much of the time, but he never really tries to deny his feelings for Viola. He accepts them and then tries to use his attraction against her – which in my opinion fits with the whole theme of the novel. He’s bitter and angry, but is shielding a deeper hurt and yearning that he only reveals to Viola. You could tell that Ian had once been a honourable man, only now affected by his past.

Lack of ‘big misunderstanding’ or ‘filler plot’ Again too many times authors fill the book with unnecessary characters, circumstances or problems between h/h because they feel it’s a sure fire way to heighten suspense or tensions or whatever. Really it’s just irritating and makes me lose interest entirely. Adele Ashworth never once strayed into either one of these areas. The h/h come to blows several times but out of these confrontations there is honesty and more secrets revealed. It’s a slow progression to learning the entire truth about Ian’s time in the dungeon and Viola’s role in it all and that is what keeps the story, these two characters and the tension going. There are really no secondary characters to interfere with the plot that is about these two people. Ian and Viola are the stars of the show and they are together in almost every scene. I hate it when hero and heroine are apart for several chapters as they converse with meaningless characters just for the sake of drawing everything out and really appreciated that there was none of that in this book. There are no misunderstandings, only secrets that are hard to admit to one another. Nothing is drawn out for an immeasurable amount of time and the slow reveal of secrets kept is perfectly timed to keep the reader invested.

As for the issue of this book verging on a ‘forced romance’, similar to Anna Campbell’s Claiming the Courtesan, I haven’t read Campbell’s book through, only the first 70 pages or so, but from my understanding and reviews I’ve read, that novel is much more of a ‘forced romance’ I think it’s clear in this one that both the hero and heroine have strong feelings for one another, Viola especially admits more than once prior to their love scenes that she cares for Ian and has strong feelings for him. This isn’t a “heroine says no but her body says yes scenario” she says yes and means yes and has no regrets after the fact. Ian is pushy and manipulative in some scenes but what I found interesting is how the ‘forced’ part was reversed.

**Spoiler Start**Although Ian can't remember everything that happened while he was in the dungeon, he is pretty sure for much of the novel that he was raped or pleasured against his will. His plot to destroy Viola doesn't start out as anything similar to this. He wants to ruin her in the face of society, not ravage her as he believes he was**Spoilers End**

In this sense The Duke's Captive strays far from Campbell's novel which is very much in your face about the revenge the hero is going to inact against the heroine. I think the waters are muddier there. Although I in no way am condemning Campbell's book. I think that for some, it would just be harder to swallow while reading.

This book is, however, an all consuming revenge romance where the hero is bent of destroying the heroine for what he sees as his justice against the only person who escpaed retribution for his kidnapping. His feelings for Viola are apparent, but I appreciated that the need for revenge didn't wane in favour of the 'all consuming love'.
This was a great book with a lot of depth and feeling and the emotions run high through out. In my opinion a perfect revenge romance.

Deadly Affairs by Brenda Joyce

4 stars. (Historical Romance)

Deadly Affairs was another great installment in Brenda Joyce’s Deadly series. The same characters are back as in the first two with a few new additions here and there to make the story work. As always I loved some of the characters and was annoyed at various points by others – mainly the heroine Francesca Cahill. Heiress, reformer, amateur sleuth, this woman is vastly different from the other young women of wealth in her social circle – which is why I suppose, Miss Cahill has attracted the attention of two  very powerful and gorgeous men.

Francesca though, for all her supposed book smarts and unmatched intelligence is a very naive character. Now, I like innocence in a heroine, nothing wrong with that. But, there is a huge difference between innocence and naiveté and it’s a fine line between endearing and annoying. Unfortunately, one of the only complaints I consistently have with this series is the blindness, naiveté and ultimate immaturity of the heroine. She’s compelling, sure, beautiful, yes, but she gets on my nerves for most of the book with her die-hard declarations of everlasting love for Rick Bragg, the married, slightly pretentious, morally bound (although his morals take a hike whenever Francesca bates her eyes at him – he’s helpless to her charms apparently) and oh so handsome and “good” police commissioner. I don’t dislike Bragg, but I can’t say I love him either. Honestly, I guess Francesca and Bragg do make the perfect couple, they are both reformers and want to help the less fortunate and all that stuff, but it comes across so fake and phony most of the time that I want to gag. It may seem like I’m beating up on the characters and the book, but in all honesty this series is really good and kind of addictive so I’d read it nonetheless. I’d be totally fine accepting Bragg and Francesca as a couple if this book didn’t also feature the devastating Calder Hart. Man, this guy is so delicious and sinister and caustic and cynical and “bad” – but in all the right ways that make you just want to hug the guy and declare your everlasting love! Why Francesca hasn’t done this yet continues to amaze me. She must have an iron will or a really good veil to pull over her eyes – let’s her ignore all the unsightly things she just can’t handle.

I love that unlike Bragg, Calder – Bragg’s half brother and nemesis continually calls Francesca out on her crap. She’s being a brat, he calls her one, she’s being naive and close minded, and he tells her so. Like I said, this guy is no holds barred and I love it. He is the character who forces everyone to see the things they would much rather deny are right in front of their faces. Calder is not his half brother’s favourite person and they do not get along under any circumstances, at first Calder was mainly fascinated by the relationship between Fran and Bragg, but now it seems he’s beginning to really care about Francesca and is therefore becoming her champion, which I love. He’s the “bad” brother, the dark horse and all that comes along with it, but what you really start to see in this book, the third in the series, is that Calder has a real tenderness and kindness about him. Of course he’d never admit it. It actually gets frustrating to see how Bragg and sometimes Francesca see Calder – they paint him as the bad guy with no morals or virtue, but really? Take a look at yourselves is all I got to say!  But like his brother, Calder really likes Francesca, and she does have some good qualities aside from her perpetual stupidity.  She’s kind, loyal, always wants to help others, sweet natured and good tempered. She’s at once docile and yet she hides a fiery temperament which I love. I want her to show her fiery side more, which I think will only come out when she’s with Calder. Another reason I love him. He brings out the real Francesca Cahill, not simply the young pretty miss she wishes to be with Bragg.

Anyway, you can tell I’m rooting for Calder and Francesca. We’ll see how it goes because if Francesca is suddenly going to change her tune and fall hard for Calder, 1) I better believe she truly and completely loves him and isn’t just taking him as second pick because her future with Bragg is impossible. 2) Her choice better not come out of either anger or disappointment from Bragg. If it does initially, I want to then later see Fran really fall had for the guy she never thought she’d love. You can tell by book 4, which I am currently reading, that there is an intense connection between these two characters and I really want to see how their relationship unfolds.

On another note, the only other thing that could have been better about this installment was the ultimate identity of the murderer. There is such a good setup the whole book through, and although this book and the next one – probably all the books from here on in, focus more on the relationships of every character rather than the mystery plot, I wanted more satisfaction from the climax of the story. The murders are bloody and mark the culprit as a serial killer and I enjoyed that this mystery involved Maggie Kennedy, a widowed seamstress with four children who is slowly becoming a friend of Francesca’s. Her eldest son Joel Kennedy is Fran’s assistant in all her cases and I love this kid. He’s funny, obnoxious and very entertaining. He’s also very sweet and really loves his mother and siblings. Anyway, the addition of other characters and the way Joyce weaves the new with the old was great. I really liked seeing the tentative connections between Maggie and Francesca’s brother, Evan, and can’t wait to see if that will develop more as the books proceed. I needed more from the ending though. You have this build-up, like I said and then all of a sudden you know who the culprit is and bam, Francesca saves the day and it’s all over. I wanted more of a lead up and less of a smack down once the climax was headed towards a denouement. It wouldn’t have taken much; even an extra page would have helped.

Ultimately this series is really great. Yes, annoying at times, but the characters are real and very well developed and I enjoy meeting them again and again as each book is read. It’s fun to read a continuing story like this and to see all the characters and storylines come together and change as needed. Big changes are on the horizon I can tell, and not just for the main characters, but for the minor ones I’ve come to love as well. I want to see Sarah Channing and Maggie Kennedy more and I want them both to get their happy endings. I also want Bartolla Benevante to get hers! This b*tch needs to go down.

That is all.

Never a Gentleman by Eileen Dreyer

5 Stars. (Historical Romance)

Another fabulous read from Eileen Dreyer. I read Barely a Lady last summer and really loved it. It was dark, emotional frustrating and heartbreaking all at once but what really got me was the way Dreyer wrote a hugely realistic historical. She brought together real life historical events - Battle of Waterloo - and the suspicions and tensions surrounding Wellington, and many other political leaders and secret societies of the time to influence her own suspense/mystery aspect to the novel.

The same can all be said for her second book in the Drake's Rake's series featuring Diccan Hilliard, another member of the secret Drake's Rake's society and his wife, the plain, crippled but seriously strong and honorable, Grace Fairchild. These are both lovely characters and I loved each one dearly. Diccan was tangled and living many lies, but his grief, sorrow and heartache all rang so true for me. Grace is a very strong woman. Loyal, dedicated, charming and sweet, she is exactly the kind of woman Diccan needs. Her courage and capabilities along with her vulnerabilities made her leap from the page. No wonder she walks around with a hoard of men she either saved or saved their family members, ready to protect and befriend her. She's a dynamite woman and doesn't even know it!

This book was so different in tone from the first - not as overtly angsty in my opinion - but it still had me flying through the pages. Grace and Diccan are far from a match made in heaven at the beginning of the story. Neither one wants to be with the other despite the fact that through mutual acquaintances they have formed a tenuous friendship of sorts. Grace is plain, shy, a soldier's daughter better suited to the battlefield where she tends to wounded soldiers than the dinning rooms of the ton. She wants nothing more than to retreat to the home she inherited in the country and live her life peacefully and by her own whim. Enter Diccan who leads a double, if not triple life, with many out to get him as they plot to bring down the British political leaders. Diccan is a spy and is fighting for his country, but his cover as a member of the Drake's Rake's is just that - he is a rake - one of the most well known and well liked. When he wides up in Grace's bed drugged and compromised, they are forced to marry which sets in motion a very windy and often heartbreaking journey for the two.

Diccan is trying to protect Grace, Grace is falling in love with Diccan, who is continually hurting her in the worst possible ways to protect her while he also begins to slowly loose his heart to his plain, and unbecoming wife. It's a topsy-turvy story with a lot of intrigue and many twists but overall a very enjoyable read.

I know that this second book has gotten VERY mixed reviews and I can understand the negative ones with one particular scene in mind. I get it! I do. It's despicable what Diccan is forced to do to protect his wife and to some readers it all might seem really far-fetched and stupid. For me though, the whole premise (without giving spoilers) is exactly what captured my heart in the first book. I adore the fact that Dreyer doesn't make everything all neat and tidy and pretty. I've read the "forced-marriage" scenario many a time and I have to say it has never been my favouite, mainly because it always comes off too easy. In reality if you were forced through a series of events to marry someone you either couldn't stand, weren't attracted to or simply didn't want, you wouldn't be falling in love with them so easily from the word GO!

This is exactly what every other romance I've read with this forced marriage theme presents to readers. This fancy, neatly tied in a bow series of events where the hero is a rake but also totally honorable, never looking at another woman and the wife is cold but also hot for the hero without a thought to the life she may have lead if she hadn't been forced into marriage. I really appreciated the way Dreyer mixed up this over-used blueprint and took things to another level. She focused on the hard stuff. She made her characters work for the love they share for one another and she forced both Diccan and Grace (more so Diccan) to make the really awful mistakes that would seriously shatter a person. He shattered Grace, just as Jack shattered Olivia in Dreyer's first book Barely a Lady . It's real, it's harsh, it's heartbreaking, frustrating but ultimately satisfying when the hero and heroine can learn to forgive and move forward.

Every emotion felt real to me in this novel. It all hung on a tenuous and very weak string for Diccan and Grace, but somehow they made it through and it was so satisfying to go through the angsty drama and heartache to get to the end where they predictably live Happily Ever After. As in all romance novels. I understand that for readers who like the formula, or who read romance for the escape from the everyday reality of relationships that this book would grate on one's nerves. But honestly, if you are really looking for unique stories, or stories that you've seen down before but really want to see them done differently and with oomph, than Dreyer's books are for you. They're honest, electrifying and really interesting to read with not only the romance, but the mystery involved.

Dreyer works some real magic in her stories and having loved both her historical romances I am especially excited about the third in the series featuring Kate and Harry Lidge, who have been battling it out, snipping at one another since book one in the series. They clearly have some unfinished business and some serious sexual tension buried beneath all the animosity. I can't wait for the sparks to fly when betrayals, secrets and passions are revealed.

Never a Gentleman is not for everyone, but like I said, if you're looking for a new perspective, a wonderful writer and interesting, realistic and much researched historical than Eileen Dreyer's Drake's Rake's series is for you! I would say to read them in order though, I don't say that often, given the fact that I have been known to read a series out of order, but in this case to get the full impact of the separate stories and characters (who show up in each book) as well as the burgeoning relationships between each separate hero and heroine you need to start with book one. All the characters show up in the first book and continue to play important roles in the preceding books. For Kate and Harry especially, you'll want to get the full impact of they're loathing by going back and seeing their introduction in book one.

Another 5 star read for me and Mrs. Dreyer!

**to read my review of Dreyer's first book - Barely a LadyBarely a